The Working Memory ModelCentral executiv

e

Central executiv

e

Episodic

Buffer

Episodic

Buffer

Visuo-spatialsketchpad

Phonological Loop

Central executiveCentral executiveDrives the system.Decides how attention is directedAllocates the resourcesHas no storage capacityHas limited capacity so cannot attend to many

things at once

Episodic BufferEpisodic BufferGeneral storage space for both acoustic and visual informationIt integrates information from the central executive, the phonological loop, the visual sketchpad and the long-term memory.Has limited capacity

The phonological LoopDeals with auditory information and the order of informationBaddeley(1986) divided it into two components:The auditory store ( the inner ear )Which holds information in speech based form for 1-2 secondsThe articulatory control process:Used to rehearse verbal information from the phonological storeMemory traces in the auditory store decay in 1.5 -2 seconds but can be maintained by articulatory control process

Holds visual (what things look like) and spatial (relationship between things) information for a very short time.You use it when you are planning a spatial task i.e. going from your home to the college.

Studies: the central executiveStudies: the central executiveBaddeley (1996)Asked participants to think of random digits that

bore no connection to each other (by tapping in numbers on a keyboard). Either carried out on its own, or with one of the following tasks:

1.Reciting the alphabet2.Counting from 13.Alternating between letters and numbers e.g. A1

b2 c3

Generated number stream was much less random in condition 3 – Baddeley said they were competing for the same central executive resources.

Studies: The phonological loopStudies: The phonological loopBaddeley, Thompson & Buchanan (1975)-

word length effect.

HARMWITTWICEBUSTIN

ORGANISATIONUNIVERSITYASSOSCIATIONNEUROLOGICALUNDENIABLE

Presented words for very brief periods of time. One condition – 5 words, one syllable, familiar. Two condition: 5 polysyllabic words. Average correct recall over several trials showed participants remembered the short words much better. This is the ‘word length effect’.What does this tell us about the phonological loop?

Studies: The phonological loopStudies: The phonological loop

Studies: The visuospatial sketchpad

Shepard & Feng (1972)

Imagine folding the shapes into a cube... Do the arrows meet?Time taken to make the decision was related to the time taken if the participants had actually been required to do the folding.VISUAL IMAGES WORK IN VERY SIMILAR WAYS TO REAL LIFE PERCEPTION.

Studies: The visuospatial sketchpadBaddeley, Grant, Wight & Thompson (1973)

Participants were given a visual tracking task: track a moving line with a pointer at the same they were given one of two tasks:1.To describe the angle of the letter F (which system did this task involve?)2. To perform a verbal task (which system did this task involve?)

They performed better in the second task Why?

SensoryMemory

Short TermMemory

Long TermMemory

Decay Decay..........

DisplacementInterference

..........

Decay..........

Retrieval FailureOUTPUT

Attention Rehearsal

Recall / Retrieval

Rehearsal

Evaluation of the multi-store modelStrength: It is simple and be tested.

Research evidence supports the idea that STM and LTM are qualitatively different types of memory.

Weakness: In real life, memories are created in contexts rather different from laboratory ased ‘free-recall’ experiments, so perhaps this model does not explain fully the complexities of human memory. The model also suggests that memory is a passive process.

Multi-store Model RecapThe model suggests memory consists of 5 separate stores.

The model suggests there is only one single, unitary store for each type of memory (Sensory, STM & LTM).

The model suggests memory is an active process.

Encoding in STM is mainly acoustic, whereas in LTM it is mainly visual.

Atminson and Shiffron proposed the model.

STM has unlimited capacity and duration.

Elaborative rehearsal involves repeating something over and over again.

Working Memory Model

Baddeley and Hitch (1974)

Baddeley and Hitch (1974)

Working Memory (STM) is…….

“that bit of memory you are USING when you are WORKING on something.”

21 + 12 + 52 =

TaskWork out how many

windows are in your house…

How did you do it?Discuss your answer with the person next to

you…

Did you use similar strategies?

How does Working Memory operate?I formed a mental image of my house and

counted the windows by walking through the house room by room.

Did you?

Or, did you form a mental image of your house and count the windows by imagining the outside of the house?

Think!How will each of the Working Memory

components contribute to the completion of the TASK?

Phonological LoopVisuo-spatial SketchpadCentral Executive

How does Working Memory operate? The image of your house will be set up and manipulated in

your ‘Visuo-spatial Sketchpad’.

The tally of windows will be held in your ‘Phonological Loop’ as you count them under your breath.

The whole operation will be supervised by the ‘Central Executive’ which will allocate the tasks and recognise when the final total has been reached.

Working Memory Model Diagram

Success Criteria

• a suitable image to illustrate each component• a description of how each component works• an everyday example of each component

Dual-Task ExperimentLetter Recall Score = Acoustic Task Position Score = Visual Task

Person 1 = Verbal InterferencePoor Letter Recall Score

Person 2 = Visual InterferencePoor Position Score

Multi-store

Model

Working

Memory

Model

Working memory model of Baddeley and Hitch

Central executive The attentional control system

Limited capacity

Phonological loopVisuospacial sketchpad

Spatial and visual information-storage systemLimited capacity‘The inner eye’

Articulatory control systemVerbal rehearsal system

Time-based capacity‘The inner voice’

Phonological storeSpeech-based storage system

Decay rate: 2 seconds‘The inner ear’

Strengths and weaknesses of the WM model(+) Strengths: It suggests that rehearsal is an

optional process, which is more realistic than the multi-store model, especially since we do not rehearse everything that we remember.

The model can explain how we can successfully do two tasks at the same time if the tasks involve different stores, but why we have trouble performing two tasks at the same time if the tasks involve the same stores.

Weaknesses:(-) Least is known about the precise function

of the most important component, the central executive, and the suggestion that there may be a single central executive may be inaccurate.

It is too rigid and simplistic